After you've successfully earned your rep as a big, loud, goofy, and (usually) loaded punk rock band, where do you go next? On their third album,
Dune Rats, the pride of Brisbane, Australia, answer that question by becoming a big, loud, goofy, (usually) loaded, and somewhat more professional punk rock band. Two songs on 2020's
Hurry Up and Wait were recorded in glamorous Los Angeles, California with producer
John Feldmann, who has put a gleaming spit and polish on recordings by pop-punk outfits like
blink-182 and
5 Seconds of Summer.
Feldmann didn't seriously change the
Dune Rats' fundamental musical style or lyrical outlook, but he made them sound like a professional punk rock act in a way they haven't before, and while the band cut the rest of the album on their own, a wee bit of that discipline stuck. The interplay between the musicians is tighter, the sound of the drums and guitars is punchier, the harmonies are newly precise, and the mix boasts a clarity missing from their earlier work. Where 2017's
The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit sounded like a good meat-and-potatoes rock band bashing it down and having a blast,
Hurry Up and Wait suggests someone wanted to see if these guys could play to a bigger crowd if they cleaned up their act a wee bit. However, that someone doesn't seem to be the
Dune Rats. Their joyously foul-mouthed and self-deprecating lyrics are no different than before, the schoolboy insouciance of their vocals is rudely charming, and the tunes are still simple, no-frills garage-leaning punk rock with just the right percentage of hooks. And if someone was seriously grooming
Dune Rats for major international success, it's hard to believe they would have let them include songs like "Bobby D.," "Stupid Is as Stupid Does," "If My Bong Could Talk," or "Mountains Come and Go But Aussie Pub Rock Lives On." (Not to mention the drunken answering machine message that kicks off the LP.) Faced with the prospect of making nice for major markets,
Dune Rats seemingly decided to head to California for a few days, have a good time on the label's dime, and then head home and make the record they would have made anyway.
Hurry Up and Wait still sounds like
the Dune Rats, which is good news for all concerned, except perhaps whoever bankrolled the
Feldmann sessions. ~ Mark Deming